Saturday, November 14

Welcome to the offseason edition of the Nationals Beat newsletter. This is your stop for the latest on and off the field, from news to exclusive player interviews and insights, brought to you by MLB.com club reporter Jessica Camerato.

The Nationals were not shy with getting different looks from their bullpen this past season, and they will continue to explore all avenues this winter to improve a staff that blew an MLB record-setting 42 saves. 

From openers to multi-inning relievers to pitchers in dual roles (and a few position players in lopsided games), the Nationals called on a league-high 40 players to pitch out of the ’pen this past season. 

“I think between now and Spring Training, my guess is there will be a few more faces,” president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said at GM Meetings this week in Las Vegas. “I can't say for sure, but whether that's Major League free agency or waiver claims or whatever it might be, trades, I think there might be some movement there.” 

The Nationals tabbed more than three dozen pitchers as their needs ranged from covering innings when a starter struggled, filling the vacancy of an injured reliever or a new front office determining which role best suits a pitcher.

Of the relievers on the 2026 Opening Day roster, only Brad Lord and Gus Varland finished the season on the active roster for Game No. 162, and Varland spent half the year in Triple-A. 

This past season, a league-high 34 Nationals players finished a game and 16 earned a save. But this same group struggled late in games, and their 42 blown saves surpassed the previous record of 36 by the 2024 White Sox. The Nationals recorded a league-high 5.69 ERA in the seventh inning or later, including the most walks among all teams (244) and the seventh-fewest strikeouts (427). 

“I think it's good that we'll have that movement,” Toboni said. “I think you guys saw it last year; we were pretty aggressive with a number of spots, and I think we benefited from that approach. Maybe not to the extent that I would have guessed at the start of the season, but we still benefited from it.

“More than anything, I think it's the right approach, and so it's something that we'll continue to do going forward.”

The reliever free-agency market this offseason is headlined by left-hander Adrian Morejon. The All-Star is expected to be coveted by multiple contenders, with an ERA of 2.83 or less in each of the past three seasons and a 5.1 career bWAR. 

There are seven more free-agent relievers with a career bWAR of 2.0 or better: RHP David Bednar (4.0), LHP Sean Newcomb (3.5), LHP Steven Okert (2.8), LHP Tyler Alexander (2.4), RHP Raisel Iglesias (2.1), LHP Alex Vesia (2.1) and LHP Gregory Soto (2.0). Bednar, who received a qualifying offer, tied for fifth in saves last season (35), while Iglesias ranked eighth (34). 

Beyond the top of this pool, there is a long list of relievers with a range of experience. For example, left-hander JoJo Romero and right-hander Antonio Senzatela are coming off a World Series run with the Brewers. 

Just as the Nationals tested out several configurations of their bullpen this past season, they are likely to construct their relief corps with role flexibility in 2027. 

“There are a number of really good arms out there that have closing experience,” said Toboni. “Even if they don't, they can potentially do it for us. So we'll keep all our options open.”

The Nationals got an abbreviated look at southpaw Connelly Early on the mound when he returned from the injured list in the penultimate game of the season. The 24-year-old, who was acquired from the Red Sox in exchange for Curtis Mead, has begun his offseason program in Arizona. Toboni said Early has no restrictions. 

“Connelly’s great. He's working hard,” Toboni said. “... He finished the year healthy. I think that was important for him to get out there and pitch in a big league game. He’s a really dedicated, motivated guy. I think he's hopefully going to come out of the offseason in a really, really good spot.”

Early, at this point, is projected as a No. 2 or No. 3 starter next season. He threw three scoreless innings for the Nats on Sept. 26 against the Mets, in his return from left elbow inflammation.

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